Finley // Week 18

HEALTH

We are blessed that you are so healthy Finley! You can tell that you are eating good because you are growing, growing and starting to really get those leg rolls.. ahhhh squishy baby alert! We. Love. It.

The only things that are concerning me are your diapers.. I know you are constipated and sometimes your spit up is off the chain! I messaged Jennifer (my nurse friend) and she gave us a home remedy to try to get you moving good in the bowel movement department.. and it worked! I know you felt so much better after all that came out of your little body. (We'll be talking to the doctor about these things at your 4 month checkup.)

You've got some major drool going too! There is one place on your bottom gums on the left side that is swollen a lot more than any other place in your mouth and on the bottom front we can see a white dot.. it has stayed the same and hasn't seemed to be any different. You have really started to keep your fingers in your mouth and chew on them constantly. Sometimes you even gag yourself. You've even started this new noise/tongue movement/sound too... Aunt Tammy saw you doing it and we wondered if you were trying to massage your own gums with your tongue? Whatever you are doing cracks us up!

You have ran a low grade fever a couple of times and we have given you Children's Tylenol to help bring it back down.

Mommy was getting ready for work on this particular morning and I walked into the living room to this.. Y'all were passed out! 

And then you were wide awake! Your facial expressions that have come about this week are priceless and hilarious!

On November 19th, we sent Uncle Ko Ko a couple of pictures and we sang Happy Birthday to him in a video. As you can see, it was quite warm this day.. in the 70's! Crazy Georgia weather!

EATING

You have really picked up on your bottles.. between 7-8 oz every 3 - 3 1/2 hours. And you still do your screaming fits when we burp you.. you love your milk little girl!

You absolutely recognize your bottles, reach for it and grab it with two hands, and pull it towards you to put in your mouth.. most of the time you hit the target but sometimes we have to help you out. Once you get about halfway thru, you can hold it alone if you are still holding onto it but sometimes I think you get over it and Mom and Dad are here to help out!

SLEEP

You take your bedtime serious! Most of the time you get your last bottle around 6:45ish -7ish, you have bath time, we may have a little play time depending on your mood, and then you are pretty much ready by 8 to be asleep. There have been quite a few times now where you do not want to be rocked in any kind of way.. so I put you down, you may or may not babble for a little bit and then you are fast asleep! I recall one night, you were f-u-s-s-y when I tried to rock you, bounce you, NOTHING was working.. I laid you down and LITERALLY as soon as I did, you snuggled down, put your hand up to your face and you were asleep.. and slept for 11 hours! Me and your Daddy have decided that you are just loving your space.

I'm pretty sure the last night you have slept in your crib this week was the 19th or 20th.

 You just have not wanted any of your crib so we put you back in your bassinet and you have slept like a champ again. I talked with Grandma Kathy about this and you teething and I think maybe you laying back made you feel some pressure in your ears from teething?? She said when your Uncle Ko Ko started teething she had to elevate him more at night as well. You have just seemed so much more comfortable this way for now.

On November 22nd, at about 4AM I woke up to you screaming your head off. Me and your Daddy were trying everything to help you. I guess in the sleep fog we were in we didn't think about you being gassy? I know the Lord just gave it to me all of sudden to bicycle your legs and things really started moving then! After a few minutes, you calmed down, we snuggled into the warm sheets for a minute and you passed back out. 

A couple of nights, it got down in the 30's and you slept in our room next to our bed. I woke up to you babbling and cooing, sat up so you could see me, and you just grinned from ear to ear. That was a wonderful morning to just sit up and have you right there with us. We sat in the bed all 3 of us and just enjoyed the moment.

3 AMIGAS

There is no doubt you are going to learn how much Mommy loves Christmas and loves to decorate the house for it too! I was so excited last weekend, that Gigi came over while Mimi worked and I got started getting all the Christmas down and managed to flock our dining room tree after you went to bed. Mara does this every year.. poses in front of the tree. I promise I don't get her all posed. She loves it when I get the lights out too.. she will come and sit on or near them!

I put your tree up in your room first. La La let us borrow her pink tree for your nursery. You love to look at the lights!

WHAT FINLEY IS UP TO

You have been pulling yourself up and trying to sit up all the time like a big girl!

You hold you head up so good and love to be where you can see everything...

 This is one of your Daddy's favorite pictures...

You love sucking your thumb when it's nap time or when you are just beginning to wake up.. If we are in the truck, we can hear you when you find your thumb.. smack smack...

I have been concerned about you sucking your thumb but after reading a couple of things on this subject, I'm not really worried about it..

You are grabbing our faces and really reaching out for objects...

You grabbed my face one morning after your bottle while I was bent down talking to you... oh my goodness melt my heart. You still hold our fingers (when you aren't holding your bottle).

You are beginning to get more on a schedule.. if you sleep good for 11 hours, we get up, change your diaper, have your bottle, have play time, get dressed for the day (most of the time at this time) and then you are ready for another nap. Your naps most of the time are now between 2-3 hours.

I love you hanging out with me while I get ready for work! We talk and talk and I get to look at your smiling face as long as I possibly can before work!

I LOVE your smiles and you give us so many!

You've been doing this squealing/suck in the air and then you let it out kind of noise.. you get really amped up and your arms and legs just constantly move and kick...

I love watching you sleep and can really watch you and smooch all over you!

You are so happy and talk and talk and talk in the mornings after you eat!

I feel like your hair is really starting to fill in and show up more..

You turned 4 months on the 22nd and we had a little photoshoot.. sooo precious!

We had church this same day and once again you did so good. You were awake a little more but soon you passed out...

Wook at those. lips!!!

Aunt Tammy (Mimi) and Gigi came to ACTS and we were all starving afterwards so we tried this new pizza place at Traditions.. It was delish!! You were so chill and did so good for as long as we were there. It took forever to get our food. You also pulled at your ears this day and could really tell you didn't feel good in your eyes.

I was getting diapers out of the toybox and found a couple of toys that were age appropriate.. Mommy had completely forgotten you had these things.. like this piano.

You loved it! You were banging on the keys making them light up and you would just stare at it.. Even Kyli was wondering what all the racket was about...

We are still working on tummy time! You didn't mind it this day at all but there have still been times where you pitch a fit!

I love playing dress up with you and you love your rocking chair too!

You let Mommy get in a little shoulder workout on Monday before work.. Unfortunately between work and Thanksgiving this is the last time I've worked out in a week. In between sets, for whatever reason I started cheering and you were just cracking up.

Your Daddy read your wonder weeks app, and read where you would probably enjoy nursery rhymes like the Itsy Bitsy Spider.. I sang it to you and you were just mesmerized! You like this one and Patty Cake. 

This is why I'm late for work all the time because I'm too busy taking pics of your smiling, happy face!

You have laughed out loud more too! It is the cutest!!